Top Half of the Hero was a multimedia installation with public participation, exhibited at the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork 2002 consisting of office furniture, photography, video, neon, wall drawings, paper, drawing materials and stencils.
The work was a critical response to issues which arose in relation to the history of painting. Through site-specific works, connections were made to different sub-plots in art, such as the myth of the artist, the myth of representation and the myth of the gallery as an exhibition space. The hero here is ‘art history’ and the 'top half' refers to top heavy with the implication that it's falling over. The work is best received in a post-modern context where established Western art traditions are explored, exposing and challenging the hidden mechanisms that underpin the processes of making and exhibiting art.
Also see Videos Top Half of the Hero 1 & 2 2002
The Top Half of the Hero (part 1) was a video of the front of a canoe shot through the windscreen of a car. The camera has been turned upside down and the video slowed down to give the illusion that the passing trees are reflections, silent. (also see videos)
The Top Half of the Hero (part 1) was a video of the front of a canoe shot through the windscreen of a car. The camera has been turned upside down and the video slowed down to give the illusion that the passing trees are reflections, silent. (also see videos)
The Top Half of the Hero (part 2) was a video of the shadow of a canoe shot through the passenger window of a moving car. The camera has been turned upside down, it is shot in real-time and includes the sounds of the car. (also see videos)